Synopses & Reviews
PROFESSIONAL SELLING: A TRUST BASED-APPROACH, 4e is written specifically for you the student. It strives to provide comprehensive coverage of sales tools and tactics in a way that you will find interesting, readable, and enjoyable. The text is arranged into ten modules, which blend research results with up-to-date professional selling practice in a format designed to stimulate learning. "Objectives" highlight the basic material you will want to learn. Chapter opening vignettes illustrate many of the significant ideas to be covered in the upcoming module. These vignettes use real-world examples to illustrate the diversity and complexity of professional selling. Key words, highlighted in bold, are used to illustrate key concepts and definitions. A final module summary is geared to the learning objectives at the beginning of each chapter. If you understand professional selling terms, develop selling knowledge, and build professional sales skills, you will be prepared to make successful, professional selling decisions.
Synopsis
PROFESSIONAL SELLING provides comprehensive coverage of contemporary professional selling by integrating recent sales research with leading personal selling practices. Professional SellingÂ's chapters can be mixed and matched with sales management chapters from IngramÂ's SALES MANAGEMENT, SIXTH EDITION to create an outstanding customized sales course. This highly experienced author team draws on their industry and academic experience to blend the most recent research findings with illustrated best practices in professional selling.
About the Author
Thomas N. Ingram (Ph.D., Georgia State University) is department chair and professor of marketing at Colorado State University. Before commencing his academic career, he worked in sales, product management, and sales management with Exxon and Mobil. Tom is a recipient of the Marketing Educator of the year award given by Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI). He was honored as the first recipient of the Mu Kappa Tau National Marketing Honor Society recognition award for Outstanding Scholarly Contributions to the Sales Discipline. On several occasions, he has been recognized at the university level for outstanding teaching. Tom has served as the editor of Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, chair of the SMEI Accreditation Institute, and as a member of the Board of Directors of SMEI. He is the editor of Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice. Tom's primary research is in personal selling and sales management. His work has appeared in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, among others. He is the co-author of The Professional Selling Skills Workbook and Marketing Principles a Perspectives, and co-editor of Emerging Trends in Sales Thought and Practice.Ramon A. Avila (Ph.D., Virginia Tech University) is the George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Marketing at Ball State University. Before coming to Ball State, he worked in sales with the Burroughs Corporation. He has also held two visiting Professorships at the University of Hawaii. Ramon was presented the 1999 Mu Kappa Tau's Outstanding Contributor to the Sales Profession. He is only the third recipient of this award. Ramon has also received the University's Outstanding Junior Faculty award, the University's Outstanding Service award, the College of Business Professor of the year, and the Dean's Teaching award ever year since its inception in 1987. Ramon also sits on six editorial review boards. Ramon's primary research is in personal selling and sales management. His work has appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Marketing Management, and the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, among others. He is the co-author of The Professional Selling Skills Workbook.Charles H. Schwepker, Jr. (Ph.D., University of Memphis) is professor of marketing at Central Missouri State University. He has experience in wholesale and retail sales. His research interests are in sales management, personal selling, marketing ethics and consumer behavior. His articles have appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management and Journal of Business Ethics, among other journals, various national a nd regional proceedings, and books, including Marketing Communications Classics. He is on the editorial review boards of the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Journal of BusinessandIndustrial Marketing and Southern Business Review.Michael R. Williams (Ph.D., Oklahoma State University) is associate professor of marketing at Illinois State University. Coinciding with his successful academic and research career, Mike brings with him a rich experience of more than 20 years' work in industrial sales, sales management, and marketing research. Mike's research has been published in a variety of journals, including the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Quality Management Journal, Competitiveness Review, Journal of Industrial Technology, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, and Simulation and Gaming: An International Journal of Theory , Design, and Research. His work has also received numerous honors, including Outstanding Article for 1998 in the Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, the AACSB's Leadership in Innovative Business Education Award, and the Marketing Science Institute's Alden G. Clayton Competition. Mike has also been honored with numerous university and college research and teaching awards, and his work in the field of corporate and university education has resulted in his being named to Who Who's in American Education. Recognition of his work in the areas of sales and organizational performance, customer orientation and corporate culture have further resulted in Mike's being honored in Who's Who in the South and Southwest, and Who's Who in America. Mike is currently national director for the National Conference in Sales Management, faculty advisory board member for the Fisher Institute of Personal Selling at the University of Akron, and co-director of the Market-Driven Quality Group.
Table of Contents
Module 1: Overview of Personal Selling. Appendix 1: Sales Careers. Part 1: THE FOUNDATIONS OF PROFESSIONAL SELLING. Module 2: Building the Trust and Sales Ethics. Module 3: Understanding Buyers. Module 4: Communication Skills. Part 2: INITIATING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS. Module 5: Prospecting and Preapproach. Module 6: Planning the Presentation and Approaching the Customer. Part 3: DEVELOPING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS. Module 7: Sales Presentation Delivery. Module 8: Addressing Concerns and Earning Commitment. Part 4: ENHANCING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS. Module 9: Adding Value: Follow-Up. Module 10: Adding Value: Self-Leadership and Teamwork. Experiential Exercises. Glossary. Notes. Index.